FotoFair day 1

8-06-2026/0 Comments/in blog/by Frank Doorhof

Not a lot of shows left

You probably heard this a lot since Covid.
And it’s true, well at least in The Netherlands.
A lot of the especially larger trade show and events never came back after Covid, which I think is a huge loss, but we have to deal with it.

In The Netherlands we have a few smaller events trying to fill the spaces and some are indeed very nice, but we still have one large event left, and one I especially love.

FotoFair

The FotoFair is a very special and unique event.
No trade show floor, no big building with a dedicated room.
No… FotoFair is organized on a large recreation area with a beautiful lake.
All the workshops and lectures are held inside tents, and also the sponsors are selling from tents.
During the show there is a lot of stuff to do if you don’t want to visit the workshops.

Agility with dogs, horses, cosplay, radio controlled boats and a boat load more.

For us it’s a great show because we can just drive the RV next to the tent to build up and park it a few mtrs away from the show area.
(in the past we could even park behind the tent :D)

The workshops

This year the theme for my workshops was “no more boring model shoots”.
During the workshops (which last 2.5 hours) I show several lighting techniques to get more “oomph” in your shots.
But we also talk about the technique, theory, how to work with the model, using light shapers, color management and a lot more.

Today some of the results from the first day with our model : Felisa

A room divider

27-05-2026/0 Comments/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

A room divider is loads of fun

We all know that you can mount light shapers in front of your strobes to manipulate the light.
However, you can also use materials or objects placed between your subject and the light to create unique effects on the set or on your subject.

The key thing to remember is that the “sharpness” of the shadows is determined by the distance.
In this case, we use a room divider in our set to create some cool shadow effects on both our model and the background.

The key to a setup like this is, as mentioned, all in the distances. Begin by placing your light source as far away as possible and use a snoot with a grid or a reflector with a very tight and thick grid.

We want to ensure that the light is not spilling over but is focused on the room divider.

The “sharpness” of the shadows can be controlled by moving the room divider closer or further away from your subject. When you move the room divider closer to the light, the shadows will become softer and disappear a bit earlier on the background, moving the room divider closer to the model will result in sharper shadows that move further over the wall. As you can see, for this setup, I’m using the divider very close to the model.

Don’t stop me now….

“I’m having such a good time”…
This should always be your motto during a photoshoot.
Whenever you believe you’ve captured the perfect shot, don’t hesitate to experiment a bit further. In most cases, this can involve simply changing the angle or, as in the case of using a prop like our room divider, you can always find a different way to incorporate it into the composition. In this instance, the solution is to… well, let’s just say, choose a different angle.

See the whole class

Hopefully, you’re interested in learning how we shot, edited, and prepared this video. This is just one of the setups you’ll find in my brand-new class on KelbyOne. You can find the class here:

https://members.kelbyone.com/course/frank-doorhof-special-effects-simple-materials/

If you enjoyed this class, be sure to explore my other classes as well. Lighting setups are just one aspect of a photoshoot; it’s also about storytelling and creativity in lighting and color.

A new KelbyOne class

21-05-2026/0 Comments/in blog/by Frank Doorhof

New KelbyOne class coming soon!

Tutorials can be a few things

I’ve been creating tutorials for a long time now, and to be honest, it never bores me.
Mostly because, besides explaining the theory behind the techniques, I also love to create more creative setups or use gear in ways it wasn’t really designed for.

So when KelbyOne asked me to record a new class, I immediately knew what I wanted to do.
Create a class where I use household materials to create stunning results.
The class is now online on KelbyOne, so make sure you check it out whenever you want to be inspired.

You can find the class here :
https://members.kelbyone.com/course/frank-doorhof-special-effects-simple-materials/

Topics in the KelbyOne Class

The class is all about using household materials, so we dove into our attic and studio closet to see what we could use.
We ended up with scenes using rescue blankets, a torch with gels and cardboard, a room divider, and a lot more.
This is one of the most creative classes I have ever recorded, so I’m 100% sure you are going to love it.

I show you the lighting setups, the whole shoot (including all the images coming in), and of course, I explain all the techniques and ideas behind the shoot.
And to finish it off, you also get a full retouch session for several of the images.

If you love this class by KelbyOne Class: using household materials to create stunning images, make sure to also check out all the other ones.

Fun and creativity: storytelling

Photography is so much more than just capturing a beautiful model in front of a great background.
All of history, we have been storytellers, and you will find out that you will get much better results when you think more about storytelling than just capturing the light on your subject.
Storytelling can be done with colors, expression, and, of course, lighting.

In this class, I show you that you don’t need to break the bank to create cool sets or interesting looks in your photos.
So next time you are shooting a model, maybe just use a tungsten lightbulb or a torch?

Have fun 😀

This blog (with Claudia) is also about being creative with colored lights

Real moody shots are not easy

4-05-2026/in blog, Visions and technique, Webinars and instructional videos/by Frank Doorhof

But so much fun

To be honest, the higher the level of difficulty the more fun a photoshoot can be.
When working with high contrast lighting and focussed light sources it can be very easy to fall into the trap of not having enough light on your subject/set.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the solutions.

Bounce
An easy solution to just grab a large softbox (or bounce from the ceiling) and set this 3-4 stops lower than your main light and open up the shadows.
You could also try to do it in Photoshop or Lightroom with the shadows slider.
If you use fill in lights you will also take away some of the magic that a high contrast image has.
However it’s a technique that sometimes is necessary, especially when a model is wearing dark clothes.

Accent lights
The first thing I always try is to solve it with accent lights.
For me the perfect accent lights are small strips with grids.

These are perfect to focus the light on one area and the grid prevents spill light.
The reason strips work great is that they are relatively small so you can place them close by, limiting the spread of light.
But you can also use them in both vertical als horizontal position (and everything in between).
And I often use them as main lightsource if a small softbox just doesn’t have enough “reach”.
Because the striplight is a rectangle you can light a wider area without spilling over to the sides like with a standard softbox.
Sometimes just changing a small softbox for a slightly longer striplight can solve the whole problem, and light the whole subject just the way you want.

Smoke
Another option is using smoke.
Smoke is a diffuser, reflector and mood maker.
And you know the most fun….. combining everything together.

So the next time you want to use high contrast lighting and you want to make certain details jump out, try the striplight.
In this video I show you one of the ways to light up details in a very dark shot, for super moody results.

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